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The only UK brewery ever to make the cut, Manchester's Cloudwater Brew Co was listed at number five after just two years of trading.

It was a huge achievement for the young brewery, which took home a total of eleven awards at the ceremony including best beer in Manchester (with their DIPA v9), top 100 beers in the world (DIPA v3), and a number of mentions in the best beers by style.

The accolade signals the wider picture of a thriving independent brewing scene in Manchester. Brewers like Track, Runaway and Blackjack - to name just a few - create some astounding brews. So why is it that Cloudwater gained international attention before the rest?

Inside the Cloudwater Brew Co, Manchester(Image: Andy Lambert)

Paul Jones first opened the outfit in a small industrial estate with his small team in 2014. From the offset, Jones made no secret of his ambition.

"We've got a lot of examples in our short history that prove fortune favours the bold," he says.

"We've certainly benefited from maintaining and building on that confidence... I think that's one of the factors that help to make us successful."

Paul Jones, director of Cloudwater(Image: Andy Lambert)

Their confidence didn't go unnoticed, not least among other brewers. It's safe to say the new kid on the block put a few noses out of joint in the tight-knit Manchester beer scene.

"I think people were quite cynical about the size of the brewery when we started," Jones admits.

The norm in the UK - and certainly Manchester - for new breweries was largely home-brewers setting up on a small-scale professional kit, he explains.

(Image: Cloudwater Brew Co )

"I think a misconception was: we're a bit too big for our boots."

"[Other brewers thought] what did we think we were doing with this scale, and what were we doing as a British brewery to publicly state our ambition, how dare we."

"I think those early misconceptions came through because I think people failed to see the experience that was already built into our starting team ... I think we had something like 60 or 70 years of retail experience between us.

"From our point of view, it would have been insulting for me to turn to [my staff] and say: I know you've been working in breweries for years, but why don't we work on this small scale just so that we don't offend someone miserable in Manchester."

Their ambition inevitably flows into the beers, which Jones explains are modelled on the best breweries and beers in the world.

"We're always looking for the best example in each style. For example we just released a helles. The best helles in the country right now is Thornbridge with Lukas. We think the best style example full stop is somewhere between Augustiner and Tegernseer.

Cloudwater's Mittelfruh Helles(Image: Andy Lambert)

"Even though it's preposterous for a two-year old non-German brewery to say, 'we're going to try and close the gap between never making helles before, and those that we classify as the best examples', we're still doing that."

"It's the confidence to say we don't know how far we can go," Jones continues. "why impose a limit on your ambition?"

And with such impressive accolades already under their belt, it looks like Cloudwater's confidence is well placed.

2. The Pilcrow Project, Sadler's Yard

Situated in Sadler's Yard in the new NOMA neighbourhood, The Pilcrow is a public house in the truest sense of the word - every fixture and fitting was handmade by volunteers, tutored by a talented team of designers and doers.

Now operated by a new alliance between the founders of Cloudwater, Common and Port Street Beer House, the bar serves a range of craft beers and real ales including a rotating selection from Cloudwater and its own house brew.

3. Cloudwater Brew Tap, Barrel Store Tap Room

Cloudwater Brew Co(Image: Andy Lambert)

Where better to drink the Cloudwater brews than straight from the tap? Now relocated to the brewery's Barrel Store, punters can try the brews from ten taps in the railway arch from 4pm to 9pm Friday, 12pm to 8pm Saturday and 12pm to 5pm Sunday.

Head to the brewery for 10.45am on Saturdays for a tour, introduction to production process, and tastings.

4. Heaton Hops, Stockport

You'll be lucky to get a seat any day of the week in this bustling bar and bottle shop in Heaton Chapel. It's so popular that it's nearly always standing room only - but you won't hear the regulars complaining when the beer is this good.

Run by wholesaler Damian O’Shea - better known as The Ale Man - and his partner Charlotte Winstone, pictured below, it boasts a huge selection of bottles as well as eight keg lines and two cask hand-pulls. You can even fill a flagon to take away.